Book Club: The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

Three weeks ago our book club met to discuss The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson. The story follows a group of characters from a real English village in the summer of 1914. The book is heavily marketed for fans of Downton Abbey and we discussed why these types of stories appeal so much to American audiences. The first world war really set the stage for the world as we know it today with the rise of women’s rights and geographic borders. With the recent centenary interest in the war, there is a certain nostalgia for a time in not too distant memory when things were so completely different; from an old aristocratic society to the mechanics and understanding of war. Plus, they give us interesting characters with the appropriate mix of modern sensibility and commentary on Edwardian society.

We discussed the gulf in the novel between the naive, small town village plot with its touches of humor and the brutal, cruelty of the war. This gulf was further emphasized by a slow pace and stereotyped characters that I found difficult to care about though there were notable exceptions of Aunt Agatha, Daniel and Celeste who all showed spirit and strength. While there was nothing new here for a history enthusiast like me to learn in this treatment, I did appreciate the similarities I had seen in references to the experience of the war in America.

National WWI Museum

Minnesota History Center

The American Experience: The Great War

Book Club: Persuasion by Jane Austen

Last month, our book club met to discuss Jane Austen’s Persuasion. The book was written while the author’s health was in decline and people have speculated about the more poignant nature of whether Austen instilled her own personal regrets in this story of lost love and second chances. We talked about her youthful attachments and brief engagement and while we will never be able to say for certain that she regretted her life choices, there is a humanity to Anne’s history that is appealing.

  

The question at the heart of the book is whether Anne got bad advice when she broke her engagement eight years previously. While the end result proves that our pair should be together, there were good reasons aside from wealth and class for her to have declined his offer. Wentworth is fighting a war and might not come back; even if he survives, he might not be lucky enough to earn prize money for taking French ships (the way sailors gained their fortunes at the time). Given the uncertainty of that future, it is not completely unreasonable for her friends to advise her to decline such a proposal.

One of the themes discussed in this book is class and status. Sir Walter is a pompous fool, obsessed with status when his actual status as a baronet marks him as the lowest rank of the noble classes. Austen’s works continually recall this theme with characters such as Lady Catherine and Mrs Ferrars who pursue status at the expense of happiness and worth. The war with Napoleon provided many opportunities for men like Wentworth to rise through the ranks on their own merit instead of being only available to the wealthy and noble. Austen’s own brothers Francis and Charles were sailors and reached the height of their profession.

  

We talked about our protagonist couple and whether they are likable people. Like Fanny Price, Anne is often meek and too good for words. She is at her best when she pokes against the pomposity of those around her. I was sympathetic to Anne because I was easily persuaded as a child; I found it difficult to form opinions and express them. Wentworth is brave and romantic, but some in our group questioned his motives before his reunion with Anne. He claims that he had no notion of his affect on Louisa Musgrove, but we all agreed that he must have had at least some idea, mostly subconsciously, that he was pursuing the younger woman to get back at Anne.

As one of the least known of Jane Austen’s work, I thought that Persuasion would be a great choice for our book club discussion. We ended up talking for an extra half-hour, it was awesome!

Jane Austen’s House Museum

Jane Austen Society of North America

What Jane Austen